Naruto: The Last Airbender
by Andrew And Tony
Summary: Naruto performs a forbidden jutsu that opens a portal to the Avatar's World. Now he has lost the scroll and has to find a way to get back home. Naruhina Sasusaku Kataang Sukka and some mixed show couples. Please R&R!
1. The Mission

Hey Andrew here with the first Naruto .This is an Avatar/Naruto Crossover .Please R&R and enjoy! This is Pre-Shippuden Naruto.

The Mission

It was a normal day for Naruto. He woke up, took a shower, got dressed and headed to training. He got to the training ground to find someone he did not expect. It was Kakashi. Not only was he on time, he was early!  
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, why are you here so early?" Naruto asked.  
"I felt like it" Kakashi responded in a very monotonous voice.  
"WHAT!? YOU MEAN YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ON TIME EVERY TIME BUT YOU DIDN'T FEEL LIKE IT?!" Naruto yelled.  
"Yep" he said.  
Naruto deadpanned. He got up just as Sakura and Sasuke made their way to the field. They were shocked to see Kakashi, but not as much as Naruto. Sakura whispered something to Sasuke, who smirked. Naruto didn't notice. He was too busy yelling at Kakashi, who was reading his book.  
After a while, Naruto finally stopped pouting. Kakashi then looked up from his book. He took a deep breath, and then began talking.  
"Now that Naruto is done, I can tell you what's going on," He said, "We are going on a joint mission with team 8. It is a transportation mission, of classified scrolls containing very important jutsus, information, and what not. It will be a difficult mission, because we have to move through enemy territory in order to get the scrolls to the recipients before the end of next week, which is our time limit. Do you have any questions?" He rhetorically asked.  
Nobody said anything. Nobody had to. It was perfectly clear what they had to do.  
"Well then, get your supplies, and get packed. We are leaving tomorrow. Good day." Kakashi said cheerfully, and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
"It was a shadow clone, wasn't it?" Sasuke asked.  
"Yep, told you so!" Sakura responded happily.

--

Team 7 arrived at their training area to find team 8 already there. Kiba was practicing with Akamaru, Hinata was standing by a tree, and Shino was examining an ant pile. Kurenai was reading some documents, probably mission statistics. The two teams greeted each other and went back to training.  
Hinata walked up to Naruto, trying to think of something to start a conversation. Before she could say a word, Naruto went ahead and started the talk for her.  
"So Hinata, are you ready for this mission?" He asked.  
"I-I-I think s-so," she managed to force out, "B-But it sounds da-dangerous. I hope th-that we w-won't get hurt." The blush on her face was a shade vibrant red.  
"Don't worry. I promise that nothing will hurt you. I will protect you." He said. He then gave his trademark grin and walked off.  
Hinata was stunned. She was about to faint. The blush on her face could of lit up the whole village. But she no longer felt scared of the mission. Instead she was eager to see if Naruto would live up to his vow. She knew he would, but she wanted to see it none the less.  
Kakashi arrived just a little after team 7 did. With him, he held a large chest, with several locks, security measures, and presumably, many jutsus to prevent any enemies from getting the scrolls. This could only mean that this would be a dangerous mission.  
Kakashi took a quick head count then said simply "Lets Go". The whole group followed him out of the training area, and on to the main village path. Hinata and Sakura held the chest, the two jounin behind them. Naruto and Sasuke each guarded one of the chest carriers, with Sasuke guarding Sakura, and Naruto with Hinata. Kiba and Shino took point guard, with Shino's bugs scouting ahead. As the group passed under the gate, Naruto noticed that Hinata looked a little worried.  
"Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it" he told her.  
Just those words comforted her. But Naruto had no idea how wrong he'd be. They would be gone longer than any of them expected. They would be gone to a place that wasn't even in their world. Naruto looked responsible then, but that same cockiness would cause the entire mess to begin with.


	2. The Secert Jutsu

**Hey Andrew updating the story. You guys shocked me! I never thought that over the course if 12 hours, this story would get 38 hits, 3 comments, and 2 favorites! Please keep it up. I really want to hear what you have to say! And to answer your questions:  
TicknTock: I'm trying my best but remember, I'm only 13. I'm not a professional. But I do thank you for the tips.  
NanoBear: Don't worry, its a little one-sided by Zuko  
thesilentstars: is 22 hours later quick enough? lol! Please tell me your opinion! I'm dying to know!**

The Secret Jutsu

The group made their way through the forest as the day rolled on. This was the easy part of the mission. They were still in their own land, where nobody could attack them. Nobody felt harmed or too nervous yet. As a matter of fact it was a rather pleasurable walk in the woods. Though they all knew it would end rather abruptly.

They entered a clearing, about 50 kilometers from the Land of Fire's border with the Village Hidden in the Rain. Their target land was a small country with no ninja village. However that was why they were bringing the scrolls. This small, farming country was changing their status to a war party government. The country was located north of The Land of Wind and west of the Village Hidden in the Rain. It would take the group to long to go through the Village Hidden in the Sand, so they had to move through the Rain Village.

The new countries village was to be called The Village Hidden in the Mountains.It had pre-signed an alliance treaty to Konoha, hence the reason of the mission. Tsunade wanted her new allies to be well protected against its foes, namely the Rain Village.

It was about dusk when the joint-team reached the clearing. So they decided to call it a day, and began unpacking. Nobody had really talked all day except Naruto, who's pointless and almost entirely made up tales only appealed to Hinata. Then again, nobody else was listening.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke went to get firewood, while Kurenai, Hinata, and Sakura set up camp. Shino and Kiba were scouting the general area just to be sure. Everybody seemed to get done at the same time. Kurenai prepared some of the food she had packed for the journey, and they had a cheerful dinner as they told stories of their past missions.

"… And then that stupid cat scratched me in the face! Do you have any idea how bad that hurts?!" Naruto recalled, growing more and more angry just remembering the mission.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have put him up to your face, huh?" Sasuke responded.

"Oh, Shut-up Sasuke-teme. At least I didn't almost get killed by a guy who looked like a girl!" Naruto retorted, referring to Haku and the bridge mission.

"Shut-up baka," Sasuke hid his face.

"Well I think we should get to bed. We have to be awake before sunrise if we want to get to the border in time," Kakashi said, "I'll keep the scrolls with me" he added

They all went to bed and dreamt. Their dreams are as follows:

Sakura- Sasuke

Sasuke- Killing Itachi

Hinata- Naruto

Kakashi- a new Porn book

Kiba- a new flea medicine for Akamaru

Shino- Butterflies

Kurenai- Asuma

However the Most Hyperactive Knuckleheaded ninja in Konoha could not fall asleep. His mind was on the scrolls in that were locked away the chest. He wondered about what Jutsus could be contained in that large trunk. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He snuck out of his tent and into Kakashi's.

As he walked in he immediately saw the trunk. He walked towards it only to feel a wall of chakra blocking his path. He formed a seal and quietly said "release". He could feel the wall disappear. He advanced and grabbed the chest, then ran out of the tent.

He ran into his own tent with the box and a big grin. But that grin turned into a look of confusion as he saw the multiple locks that kept him from learning these new jutsu.

'Hmmmm… what to do about these locks…' he thought

"I got it!" he said quietly. He stood up and began concentrating his chakra into a swirling ball. The chakra solidified into a spinning mass of energy. He brought his hand back, and then thrust it into a lock. It shattered immediately. Then, he brought his hand around and broke another one. After about five minutes he had destroyed all the locks. He opened the chest to see… another box with even more locks. After about another half-hour he finally got the scrolls. He began reading the first jutsu on the list:

The Teleportation Jutsu  
This Jutsu allows the caster to teleport himself and others to another place. Must be a genjutsu master in order to attempt.

Naruto didn't read beyond that. He quickly memorized all the hand signs and began practicing the jutsu. On the first attempt he got off the ground, but no teleportation.  
On the second attempt he floated for a second, and then dropped.

'Kuso! I need more chakra!' he thought, 'hey fox give me some chakra!'

'No, I'm asleep,' his inner demon said.

'Come on! I've almost got this jutsu mastered! Come on!' he pleaded

'No'

'Please?'

'NO!'

'Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?'

'Will you shut-up if I do?'

'YES! I promise I will!'

'Fine,' The Great Fox gave in. 'But don't destroy everybody'

'You worry too much.' Naruto responded

The Nine Tailed Fox transferred his chakra to his carrier. Naruto then tried the jutsu. Third time was a charm. This time a portal formed above his head. The portal grew to about Naruto's size. And it grew and grew and grew and grew until it covered the whole campsite. It made a deep rumbling noise that seemed to echo across the world. In fear of being caught, Naruto threw the scroll into the forest.

Kakashi ran out and saw the portal and immediately knew who was responsible. He ran into Naruto's tent to find the blonde ninja looking at the sky.  
"NARUTO WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" He yelled.

"Uh, I opened a portal to who knows where?" Naruto responded nervously.  
Just as everybody got out of their tent to see what was happening, the portal enveloped them all and then disappeared, leaving no trace of them ever being there.  
To Naruto it only seemed like a second later that they hit the ground. He looked around and noted that they were in a temple, which was upside down. It looked abandoned. He looked over at his teammates to find that only he, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata were conscious.  
"Where are we? He asked.  
"I don't know" Sakura answered.  
"You're in the Western Air Temple. That was awesome! You just appeared out of thin air! I could really use that to defeat the Fire Lord! How did you do that?" a voice answered  
Naruto turned around to see who had said that. He saw a boy with a bald head and an arrow tattoo who looked about the same age as him. He held a staff and had a lemur on his shoulder. Naruto was confused and asked the only question he could think of:  
"Who ARE you?"


	3. The Meeting

**Andrew here with Chapter 3. WOOOOO! 200 hits! Thanks to everybody who reads! To answer your comments:**

thesilentstars: Wow thanks! Please keep reading

**Nanobear: I'll see if I can fit you in somewhere but can you give me a description of yourself? just so that I know what the character looks like and how he acts.  
Please Enjoy!**

The Meeting

"Who ARE you?" Naruto repeated.

"Yeah, who are you?" Sasuke snarled.

He jumped in front of Sakura and took a defensive position with a kunai in his hand. Naruto followed in suit, but he took up stance in front of Hinata. The two girls both pulled out shuriken in their hands. Sasuke started forming seals with his hands.

"You have three seconds to answer me before I turn you into ashes" Sasuke warned

"Hey, I don't want to fi-"Aang started

"ONE!" Sasuke counted

"Listen to me, I-"

"TWO!"

"Please sto-"

"THREE! Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Sasuke finished, as a large fireball erupted from his mouth. The shockwave sent Sasuke sliding back about a foot. Naruto was knocked off of his feet, along with Hinata.

The great fireball headed for Aang with blinding speed. It got about two feet away from him when he sent a blast of air to dispurst the great flame. The whole group got quiet as Aang took a few stances and then shot huge boulders at them within five seconds after the failed fireball.

"Guys we've got firebenders!" Aang shouted into the temple. In a matter of seconds his entire group appeared at his side, all ready to fight. Sasuke quickly destroyed the incoming rocks and began forming more seals. Naruto made his signature cross-shaped seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. Twenty shadow clones appeared at his side. They charged, throwing kunai and shuriken with explosive notes tied to them. Zuko made the mistake of shooting a blast of fire at the explosive weapons. The notes detonated about five feet from the Avatar group.

The explosion almost brought the whole temple down. Smoke covered the large platform on which they stood. At first it looked as if Naruto and Sasuke had won, but then they could see a large dome made out of stone. It opened up, and Aang, Katara, and Toph ran out and began pounding the young genin with water, wind, and earth.

They quickly subdued they four genin and their group. Toph pinned them against the wall and they began interrogating them.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked.

"Give me your name, and I'll give you mine," Sasuke responded

"Alright, my name is Sokka of the water tribe," Sokka said

"I am Sasuke Uchiha, heir to the most powerful clan in Konoha."

"Konoha? Where is that?" Aang asked.

"In the Land of Fire" Sakura answered.

Sokka pulled out his boomerang, "They're fire nation spies!"

"Hold on Sokka, how old is your village Sasuke?" Aang questioned

Sasuke looked over at Sakura, who sighed and thought about the question.

"Konoha is about two-hundred-years-old. Why?" Sakura thought it was a strange question to ask if you're interrogating someone.

"These guys aren't from the Fire Nation" Aang said.

"WHAT? THEY JUST SAID THEY WERE!!" Sokka screeched

"No, they said they were from the 'Land of Fire'. And besides, they said that their village is 200 years-old. But I know that there wasn't a 'Konoha' in the fire nation when visited there 100 years-ago." Aang explained

"They're probably making it up! Toph, were they lying?" Sokka complained

"As far as I can tell, they were telling the truth," Toph said

"WHAT?! Zuko is there a Konoha in the Fire Nation? PLEASE say yes!" Sokka was on his knees.

"Not that I know of," Zuko calmly responded

"UGHHH! I wanted to torture you guys!" Sokka moaned

"You can torture us later, but right now we need to get medical attention to Kakashi-sensei and the others," Hinata said in a surprisingly brave manner.

"Who said you could talk?" Sokka said, back on his feet.

"I did, so you can take it up with me" Naruto said, defending Hinata.

"And what is your name, whisker-boy?" Sokka jokingly asked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. You'd better remember it, because I'm going to be the next Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves! Dattebayo!" Naruto declared with a lot of pride.

"Baka," Sasuke said just loud enough to rain on Naruto's parade.

"Shut-Up!" Naruto furiously yelled back.

"Toph let them go. They do need medical attention after all" Katara said

"Fine, but if they attack us, it's your fault" The blind girl responded

She let them go and together they got the rest of teams 7 and 8 and brought them to the fountain for Katara and Sakura to heal them. While they were there, Hinata noticed Toph's eyes.

'Wow, she looks like she has Hyuuga eyes' She thought. She wondered if they had Byakugans in this world, but she decided to meet some of the people in the Avatar group. She caught up to Sokka, who was standing by a pillar.

"Oh, its you. Hey, I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier" the water tribe boy said.

"It's OK. I just wanted to get your, uh, your name," Hinata stuttered.

"Oh, uh, I'm Sokka!" The boy said with a smile.

"Th-Thanks." Hinata quickly ran away to think about what just happened.

'Did I just stutter? I love Naruto! I just met this boy and I'm already stuttering in front of him?' Hinata fought with herself. Meanwhile Sokka was thinking about his conversation with the Hyuuga heiress.

'Those eyes. So much like _hers_. But Hinata is sweeter.' Sokka felt a smile rise to his face. "Maybe these new people won't be so bad after all!" He said to himself.

Aang walked over to Naruto, who was sitting on the edge of the platform. He plopped down next to him.

"Hey, I know that we got of to a rough start, but I know that we can be friends," Aang said, "And I need as many people as I can find to defeat the Fire Lord. So how about it? Friends…?" He stuck his hand out for Naruto to shake. Naruto looked at him, and then smiled.

"Friends." Naruto shook his hand. Aang got up, but just as he got up Naruto asked him a question.

"Hey just so I know, is the girl with brown hair your girlfriend?" Naruto asked. Aang blushed a shade of deep crimson.

"No! What makes you say that?!" Aang asked nervously

"I don't know, maybe that you were staring at her while smiling and blushing about two minutes ago. That might have something to do with it, don't you think?" Naruto said in a sarcastic tone.

"OK, I like her, but can you promise not to tell her?" Aang pleaded.

"Don't worry I won't tell her a thing! Dattebayo!" Naruto said.

"Thanks! I'll talk to you later" Aang said as he walked away.

Just as he finished his talk with Aang, Naruto saw Hinata pass by. 'Well, he didn't say I couldn't tell Hinata!' Naruto thought as he began to grin.

"Hey Hinata, come over here! I have to tell you something!" Naruto called**.**


	4. The Confession

**Alright, at this point, the story is almost irrelevant due to the Avatar Finale. However, since this not in any particular time, I will continue to write. Please read, review, and enjoy!**

Nanobear: thx. if you get to the end of the CH, there is a surprise for you! :)

The Confession

The two groups began to really meet the other after the initial encounter. They began to make friends. And they picked out their enemies. Aang and Sokka hung out mainly with Naruto. Sakura and Hinata befriended Katara and Suki. While Zuko and Sasuke made perfect friends. Sakura spent most of her time with Katara trying to heal her injured comrades. They were both excellent healers, but neither of them knew how to treat the wounds of being sucked into an inter-dimensional portal.

Finally, after a week, Kakashi awoke. But, this was quite to the dismay of Naruto, who knew that he was in massive trouble. Kakashi said one sentence after waking up:

"Where is Naruto?" The tone in his voice was all Sakura needed to know to run out of her seat. That voice had scared Katara as well. It would've scared Appa if he were there.

"Naruto! Kakashi wants to see you NOW!" Sakura told the Blond haired ninja. Aang and Sokka looked at Naruto with a bit of fear.

"This can't be good" Naruto stated. He knew what would happen. Kakashi was going to yell at him, and he was going to end up in trouble, as always. But something about the way Kakashi did it scared him. It actually made him want to do better. But he just couldn't. He ran to the room in the temple that they were using as the infirmary to see Kakashi sitting up, waiting for him.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're all better!" Naruto said.

"Don't even try it," Kakashi said coldly.

"Sorry sensei."

"Naruto, I know I told you not to open the chest."

"Actually, you didn't."

"I told you that the scrolls were forbidden."

"I'm sorry for disobeying you."

Kakashi sighed, "Its OK, just give me the scroll you opened so I can get us home."

"Um, I kind of threw it into the forest when I opened the portal." Naruto meekishly responded.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"I threw it in the forest before we got here," Naruto repeated.

"WHAT?! NARUTO YOU IDIOT! NOW WER'RE STUCK HERE FOREVER! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Kakashi rhetorically asked.

"Well, a lo-"Naruto started.

"Naruto, just leave, OK? Just leave me alone right now." Kakashi interrupted

"Yes, sir" Naruto lowered his head. He couldn't feel any lower. He left the room in silence. He went to his room, and sat on his bed. He looked at the wall, and then buried his face in a pillow.

Hinata passed by and noticed Naruto's depression. She walked into his room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Naruto looked around to see who it was, and was surprised to see his visitor.

"What's wrong, N-Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Nothing"

"Th-that's not true. I know you're upset."

"Why do you care? Nobody cares about me."

"That's not true either."

"Oh, really?" Naruto got up and asked, "Name one person that actually cares about me"

"W-Well, uhh, I, um, I-I-I-I" Hinata struggled to finally let the boy of her dreams know how she felt. Her face was quickly turning red.

"You what?" Naruto asked, now sitting right beside Hinata.

"I-I-I-I-I" She tried again, but to no avail. 'Come on Hinata, you can do it!" she thought to herself, 'Naruto, I love you. That's all you have to say!'

"What is it? Spit it out already!" Naruto eagerly awaited her answer.

"NarutoIjustwantyoutoknowthatIloveyouandIcareaboutyou!!" She blurted out. Her face was deep red. She ran out of the room, with her hands in her face. She couldn't take being in the same room with him. But she was glad that she had finally told him. Even if he didn't return her feelings, she was glad that she told him.

Naruto was stunned. He thought nobody even cared about him, and now somebody just comes up and tells him that they love him. This was confusing him. He wanted to move, but his legs were immobile. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was dry. He wanted to know if he returned the feelings she just let him in on, but his brain was malfunctioning. So he sat on his bed, completely out of touch with humanity.

After about an hour, he had finally reached a decision. It was a true revelation to him. He looked back and realized that Hinata had always loved him. But he was too stupid to realize it. He felt guilty, like he had to make it up to her somehow. He ran to her room, which was across the hall. He walked in to discover her crying on her bed. That made him feel really guilty.

"Hinata, are you OK?" He asked

"Y-Yes" she responded, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Then why are you crying?" He asked

"Because I know you don't love me back" She stated, still crying.

"Come on, Hinata, let's go for a walk."

--

Naruto took her out of her bed, held her hand, and led her outside. It was just before sunset, and it was quite beautiful. Hinata was glad that everybody was inside. For some reason, she felt like keeping this a secret. They stopped at the edge of a temple roof, and sat down.

"Hinata, I just want you to know that you are the first person to ever say that they love me." Naruto explained

"Oh, that's so sad…" Hinata said

"Yes, it is. But now that I look back on it, I see how much of a fool I was," He turned to look at her, "I was looking for someone to give me love, someone who would actually care about me. But I never saw the one person that was trying to give their love to me."

Hinata looked over at him, and saw that he was looking at her, with a slight smirk on his face. He put his hand on hers and leaned in. It was as if all of her dreams were coming true.

"Hinata, I see you now, and I just want you to know that I love you too."

Her heart could've jumped out of her chest it was beating so fast. She began to lean in too, and it seemed as if nothing in the world could stop this kiss… Until a rope hit Naruto in the face.

The peaceful moment was shattered by this one cord, which seemed to come from nowhere. After a few seconds, a figure came down the rope. She came down to the spot where Hinata and Naruto were. It was a girl, who looked to be about 14-years-old, with brown hair and had on Water Tribe clothes. Her skin was similar to Katara's. She carried a large scroll on her back, and she had several paint brushes with her. Once she got down to the ground, she turned around to Hinata and Naruto and flashed a smile.

"Hey, my name is Ineri," Said the stranger in a happy voice.


	5. The New Girl

**Alright, here we go again. Here is Chapter 5. R, R, & Enjoy!**

**The New Girl**

"What the heck! We were in the middle of something!" Naruto complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you about to make-out?" Ineri asked innocently.

"YES WE WERE!!" Naruto yelled. Only once he said that did he realize what he had said. He began to blush a little, but he quickly shook it off.

"What do you want?" He asked a bit mad.

"I understand that the Avatar is currently staying here. Can you please lead me to him?" She responded in a more serious tone.

"Fine," Naruto responded angrily, "Hinata, wait here, I'll be right back."

"Thank you" Ineri said

They walked down to the hallway where everybody's rooms were located. Ineri could tell that Naruto wanted to go back, so she simply asked him which room was Aang's.

"It's the third door on the left" Naruto said quickly, before running back out of the hall.

"Good luck with your girlfriend!" She called after him.

"SHUT-UP!" She could hear him yell back.

She laughed, and then walked down the hall. She tapped on the door to Aang's room and waited for an answer. Aang opened the door and saw Ineri, which shocked him.

"Who are you?" Aang took an airbending stance.

"My Name is Ineri. I come from the Northern Water Tribe. I wish to join your group." She kneeled down in front of him. Aang sighed.

"Guys!" He called in a bored voice, "Group Meeting!"

Everybody came out of their rooms and immediately noticed Ineri, who was now standing back up. They respectfully assumed that the group meeting had something to do with her.

"Alright, Now that you're all here, let's begin," Aang started, "This girl's name is Ineri. She is from the Northern Water Tribe. She wants to join our group. What should we do?"

"I say we let her join!" Katara said

"That just because you're from the water tribe! I say we have too many people already." Toph said

"I think we should see her skills before we decide" Suki stated. Everybody agreed with that, so they went out on the plateau to see her skills. Toph created several Rock dummies to serve as targets. They would move around and knock down anyone who tried to destroy them.

"All right, show us what you've got!" Aang said.

Ineri quickly got out the scroll on her back and began painting on it. She had the entire roll complete within seconds. Then, she took a waterbending stance and began weaving her hands in complicated patterns. Finally, she thrust her hands in the air, and twenty soldiers popped from the paper. They were 6'5 each and were completely black, but Three-Dimensional. They were similar to shadow clones, but made of ink.

Ineri completed a few more sets of waterbending techniques and then the soldiers charged. Ten archers and ten swordsmen made up her force. They decimated Toph's forces within minutes. When the battle was over, all the ink returned to Ineri's Ink pouch.

"That was AMAZING! You give the Water Tribe a good name" Sokka said

"How did you do that?" Aang asked in amazement.

"Well, I've always loved art, so one day I used the water in the ink to waterbend. The Ink and the water stayed together, so I was able to bring my paintings to life!" Ineri explained.

"That's amazing!" Katara exclaimed.

"Thank you!" Ineri said

"So what's the verdict?" Sasuke said

Everybody looked at each other and nodded. Aang stepped forward.

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say it would our honor to have you on our group." He said.

"YESSS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT I'M SO EXCITED!!" Ineri screamed. She ran up and hugged Aang, who began to blush. Katara noticed this and got a little jealous. She didn't know why, but she felt as if a dragon was tearing out her heart. She didn't say anything, but she noted it for later.

They all walked back to the temple laughing and cheering. Katara walked at the end of the group. She was silent. She noticed how Aang was trying to show off in front of Ineri. She couldn't have said a word even if she wanted to. Katara felt empty without Aang.

They all sat in front of the fire as they ate dinner, which was all of the remaining ramen Kurenai had packed. They talked of past adventures and told jokes.

"… But then the monkey-rabbit said to the Tiger-cheetah 'How would I know, you're probably lion!!" Sokka finished the joke. Everybody started laughing. Everybody except Katara. She was sitting by herself by the edge of the temple. Aang noticed her and walked over there.

"Katara, what's the matter?" Aang asked.

"Nothing," She responded coldly.

"And you expect me to believe that?" He asked.

"Yes," She said, finding it difficult to hold a straight face.

"Well I don't"

"Well it's the truth"

"Katara, just tell me what's wrong"

What happened next was quite unexpected. She hugged him and started crying in his shoulder. Aang didn't know what to do, so he simply rubbed her back and 'shhhh'd' her. Nobody really knows how to comfort a crying girl.

"It's OK Katara. Shhhh, it's OK" He told her. Eventually she calmed down. Now Aang could find out what was wrong.

"Are you OK now?" Aang asked

"Mm-hm"

"Are you sure?" He persisted

"Yes"

"What's wrong?"

"Well, ever since that new girl got here, you've been ignoring me"

"She just got here, this afternoon"

"And the fact that you haven't said one thing to me for the better part of the day is killing me!" She admitted. But like Naruto earlier, she only realized the extent of her words once it was too late. She began blushing but continued talking at an alarmingly fast rate.

"And when you kissed me at the invasion, it killed me to see you fly away! And in the Cave of Two Lovers, I wanted to kiss you so bad, but the crystals lit up! And Aang what I think I'm trying to say is…" She took a big gulp of air, "Aang, I love you!"

She immediately looked away. But Aang was still looking at her. He had the largest smile in the world. She had said that she loved him. She had said the words that had for so long been out of his grasp. It was music to his ears.

"Katara, well, I love you too!" He said a little awkwardly the words he had dreamt of saying to Katara. The world seemed perfect to him. Nothing could've gone wrong. And unlike Naruto and Hinata's excursion, nothing did. She turned around to look at him, and saw, him looking directly at her. They both leaned in, and kissed. It was a very passionate kiss. It would have gone on forever if they hadn't needed to breathe. There was no question about it, they were together.

Katara laid her head on Aang's shoulder, and they looked out at the stars together. Little did they realize that they had an audience. Naruto and Hinata looked on approvingly, Sokka fainted, Toph & Suki smiled, Zuko got angry, and Ineri laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Sasuke asked Ineri

"Because! I just got that joke Sokka told!" She explained.


	6. The Raid Part 1

**We're almost to the millennial mark with this story in hits. 100 more hits! That's all we need! Let's hope this chapter will be what we need to put us over the edge!**

**goku90504: Thanks for pointing that out I meant to say "Northern".  
Nanobear: Glad you like your character **

The Raid Part 1

So life went on as usual or as usual as it gets with these two groups. Love was in the air, and most everybody was happy, except for Sasuke. Now generally he is never happy, but he was extremely unhappy as of late. At first, nobody knew why. But then they saw him glaring at Zuko.

The night Aang and Katara got together, Sakura was watching. It was touching to her. But then she found out that Naruto and Hinata had gotten together as well. All of that love, and she wasn't apart of it. It made her feel lonely, as I'm sure anybody would feel.

She told Sasuke that night that she wanted to be like those couples, and that she loved him. He, of course, rejected her. She was use to being rejected, but this time, he had broken her heart.

"Sakura, I'm going to tell you this only one more time. I DON'T LOVE YOU! I HATE YOU! YOU KEEP ON TRYING, BUT IT'S NEVER GONING TO HAPPEN! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL THAT I DON'T LOVE YOU!" Sasuke yelled. This time, she got the message. She left him alone. She walked back to her room, and cried her heart out. Until Zuko checked on her.

"Is everything alright?" He asked

"N-No," She responded truthfully.

"Tell me what's wrong" He said caringly.

"W-Well, I've always liked Sasuke. And by like I mean love. So after dinner I talked to him and told him how I feel again and th-" She started.

"Hold on, what do you mean 'again'?" Zuko interrupted.

"Well I've told him on several occasions. Every girl in the village loves him!" She explained, "Anyway, I told him how I felt and he rejected me. Bad. He told me that he hated me and that he will never love me," She continued.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Zuko said

"Thanks for listening Zuko," Sakura said lovingly, "I feel better already!"

"No problem," He said. They caught each others eye for just a second. They both blushed and looked away.

"Well, uh, I need to get to bed, so, um, I guess I'll talk to you later. Bye!" Zuko said and rushed out of the room. They both understood what had just happened. And by the looks on their faces, they couldn't wait for the next day.

That was four days ago. Ever since then, Zuko and Sakura had spent every second of every day together. Everybody was OK with them getting together. Everybody except Sasuke. He never said anything to them, though he wanted to. At first he was glad to have Sakura, off of his back. But then he realized that he was missing something. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was not there anymore. And then he realized that was Sakura. But when he went to go talk to her, she was eating lunch with Zuko. And when he tried again, she was talking with him. And every single time he tried, Zuko caused an impasse.

Now Sasuke was so jealous, he couldn't even see straight. He needed something to take his anger out on, so he met up with Toph everyday to train. But lucky for him, Sokka came into the main hall that day and provided an alternative.

"Hey guys, Suki and I were just out fishing, and we saw something bad." Sokka said.

"It was a Fire Nation camp. Apparently, it's a small army headed for the Fire Nation capital. It had a lot of supplies that we could use, but we'd be risking a lot to try and attack." Suki said.

"So we came back here to see what you guys want to do," Sokka finished.

The others looked at each other to decide. They were running out of food and supplies. There was the fact that they were facing a small army, but they could do it.

"Let's do it! Dattebayo!" Naruto Declared. Everybody else nodded in agreement.

"Everybody, get ready! We should probably strike at night, while we have the cover of darkness. Who wants to volunteer for this mission?" Sokka asked. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Sokka, Suki, Toph, Aang, Zuko, and Ineri all raised their hands.

"Alright then start getting ready! We leave in one hour!" Sokka said.

--

It was relatively ten o'clock when the group got to the Fire Nation camp. It was bigger than Sokka and Suki had told. They said that the army would be of around 100 men. The actual size of the camp indicated that there could very well be 500 soldiers there.

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura asked.

"Positive," Zuko responded.

"Alright Naruto, you're up!" Sokka said.

"Got it," He said as he formed his cross-seal, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he said and easily a hundred clones appeared from thin air. They each took an explosive note from their pouch and attached it to their backs. They each used their chakra to climb up on a tree and used it as a launch pad. They launched from the trees and it rained Naruto clones on the Fire Nation camp. A few seconds later, the camp went up in smoke. The rest of the group charged in and began taking out as many people as they could. Sasuke found the supply tent and had Zuko, Aang and Sokka take the crates that were in there. They ran them back into the forest and loaded them onto Appa's back. Naruto, Ineri, and Toph covered for them. Suki and Sakura found the medical tent and took what they could.

But the one thing that they didn't expect was that this wasn't the whole army. About two minutes into the battle, a wave of troops came out of nowhere. And these troops were firebenders. They began fighting back against the army that Ineri, Toph, and Naruto had created. They managed to hold them back for another five minutes before it got chaotic. They had already gotten quite a bit of supplies so they decide to leave. Sasuke stuck a flare in the ground, shot it, and then ran for Appa. The flare illuminated the night sky, and told everybody to head for home.

It was a mess, and the group just barely was able to make it to Appa before the army caught up with them. Aang used his glider, so that Appa would have to carry less.

"Do we have everybody here?" Sokka asked.

"I think so, let me just take a head count." Sasuke said, "1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-… Oh god."

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"We're missing Sakura"


	7. The Raid Part 2

**We've done it! 1160 hits! I just want to thank everybody who reads and who has out in suggestions for this story! Let's keep this train rollin'! When we left off, Sasuke realized that they had left Sakura in the Fire Nation Camp.**

The Raid: Part 2

"Aang, turn us around NOW!" Sasuke barked.

"No! There are too many people! You'll get killed!" Aang warned.

"I don't care! I have to get Sakura!" Sasuke said.

"No! You'll get another chance to save her!" Aang persisted.

"I said I don't care now just-"Sasuke was cut off, or, actually, knocked out by Naruto.

"Don't worry Sasuke. You'll get to save her." Naruto said quietly.

"No, I am going to save her!" Zuko said heroically.

"We'll just see about that" Naruto responded.

--

They returned to the temple to find the others waiting for them. They looked worried.

"Are you guys alright? We heard explosions!" Katara asked worriedly.

"Yeah, uh, Naruto blew up the camp." Aang said, "But we do have bad news. Sakura got captured."

"Oh my god! Why didn't you try and save her?" Katara asked.

"There were too many troops! I'm sorry but we would've died if we tried!" Aang pleaded, "I'm sorry Katara! I really am!"

"It's OK Aang, calm down. Did you guys get any supplies?" She asked.

"Yeah, we got three crates of food, one crate of clothes, a crate of weapons, and two crates of water. We also got some medicine." Sokka listed. He and Zuko took the crates off of Appa's saddle. Aang explained the whole raid to Katara. Meanwhile, Naruto was looking for Hinata. He found her in the infirmary, talking to Kiba.

"Hinata!" He exclaimed.

"Naruto! Oh my god, are you OK?" She ran up and hugged him. She began to cry into his shoulder, "Naruto, I was so worried!" She looked into his eyes, and gave him a kiss.

"Hinata, I'm sorry that I worried you." He said. He looked over at Kiba, who was twitching and babbling nonsense. Kiba, who had awoken from unconsciousness that day, fainted. Hinata and Naruto laughed, and then they went back to kissing.

Sasuke awoke in his room confused. But he quickly assessed what had happened. He felt guilty, angry, and scared all in one. But one emotion covered them all. It was Rage. He wanted revenge, and he wanted it now. His family was already taken from him; he would not allow the same to happen to the only other person in the world that mattered to him. He ran for his door, by he was cut off by Zuko. The banished prince looked angry.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you need to cool it. You're not going to save Sakura by yourself. Besides," Zuko said in menacing voice, "You broke he heart. Even if you save her, even if she forgives you, I won't."

"I don't care. She's my teammate and I'm not going to let her down. Not like I let my family down." He added quietly.

"Oh, Sakura told me what happened. I know how you feel. You want to kill your brother to regain your honor, right?" Zuko asked.

"To regain my honor and to avenge my family. Because of my brother, I grew up without parents. I had to take care of myself." Sasuke said solemnly.

"Sasuke, I know better than anyone how you feel. Regaining honor is one of the toughest and confusing things in the world. It took me forever to just understand what I have to do to regain my honor." Zuko said.

The two talked for a while about their troubled pasts. Eventually they agreed to set their personal feelings aside so that they can rescue Sakura. They would start out at the campsite at which they last saw her. They took the War Balloon.

They arrived at the campsite to find it deserted. The ground was still burnt in some places. A lone tent stood burning in the middle of the field. Sasuke walked towards it with a kunai drawn. He got about five feet away from it when six needles hit the ground in front of his foot. He jumped back and took a defensive stance. Zuko took a firebending stance and began looking around for the source of the attack. He didn't have to look, for the attacker revealed himself. Actually, herself.

This mysterious girl looked about the same age as everybody else in the group. She had black hair, tied in a ponytail. She wore Black armor and clothes, but wore a red mask. On her wrist, she wore a bracelet with four charms, each charm with a symbol of one of the four nations.

"I don't want to fight," She said calmly.

"Then why did you attack us?" Sasuke asked.

"I was merely trying to get your attention." She responded.

"Why? So you can lecture us BEFORE you attack?" Zuko asked sarcastically.

"Look, I know where your friend is. If you just follow me-" She started.

"Follow you? You're probably going to lead us into an ambush! Prove that you know who our friend is." Zuko said.

"Alright," She dug in her pouch and pulled out a long piece of cloth. She curled it up and threw it to Sasuke. Sasuke caught it and unrolled it. He discovered that it had a metal plate in the middle of it. A metal plate that had the sign of The Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Alright, where is she?" Sasuke asked.

"She is in another camp, about a mile to the north," She responded. They all made their way to the camp in about ten minutes. It was crawling with Fire Nation soldiers.

"Do you know exactly what tent she's in?" Sasuke asked.

"No, but I know that she's in the Northern end of the camp," The girl said as she began to walk around the camp. She signaled for Zuko and Sasuke to follow her. They snuck past several sentries and managed to get to the northern end of the camp.

"Now what?" Zuko asked.

"Follow my lead," The girl whispered back.

She ran behind a tree and took out the only guard in sight with her needles She ran up and dragged him behind some bushes. Then She, Zuko, and Sasuke ran into the first tent on the right. There were four tents. There was a whipping post, but no prisoner. In the second tent, they found some prisoners, but no Sakura. The same thing happened in the third tent. As they walked into the third tent, they heard moaning. They walked in to find Sakura beaten and bruised.

Sakura had several bruises around her eyes and face and a large cut on her cheek. She also had a gash on her arm, and a burn on her leg. She looked horrible. Sasuke ran up and began undoing her bonds. When she got loose, she immediately hugged Sasuke, who for once, hugged her back.

"It's OK Sakura. Their not going get you anymore" Sasuke tried to calm her down.

"I knew you would come and save me!" She whispered to him.

Sasuke picked her up and handed her to Zuko. He then headed for the exit, but was surprised to see five Fire Nation soldiers blocking his path. The girl in the mask threw five needles. Only four of the needles hit their target. The fifth soldier ran off and sounded the alarm.

Sasuke ran out and began fighting off the incoming soldiers. Unfortunately, he didn't notice a lone archer in a tower just 30 feet from him. The archer took aim, and fired a poison-tipped arrow. The arrow hit him in the arm. Sasuke was shocked by the hit, but kept fighting.

The Archer took aim again, this time with an armor-piercing bodkin-tip arrow. Once again the arrow hit Sasuke, but this time, it penetrated his gut. Blood came gushing out of the wound. This time, Sasuke dropped down to the ground. Sasuke threw a kunai at the archer in order to get rid of him. He tried to get up, but a Fire Nation soldier hit him in the head with the end of a spear. Sasuke slipped into darkness.

Zuko ran out and blew all the soldiers away with one gigantic blast of flames. He picked up Sasuke, and while carrying both ninjas, sprinted towards where the last camp was. The Girl in the mask was right behind him, throwing needles at the pursuing soldiers. Zuko reached the war balloon with only minutes to spare. He turned around to the Girl.

"Hey thanks for hel-" Ha started, before he realized that she was gone. 'Who was that girl?' he asked himself. He quickly ran into his Balloon and began making it fly. Sakura began healing Sasuke with what little energy she had left, but she quickly became unconscious too.

Zuko managed to get them all to the temple before it was too late. Katara got the poison out of Sasuke before it began to shut down his nervous system. The arrow itself had shattered his arm. The other arrow missed all central organs, but caused major internal bleeding. The Pole to the head caused a minor concussion.

As for Sakura, it wasn't so bad. She had all of her wounds heal inside a week, while Sasuke spent the next two weeks in a coma. Sakura spent every second of those two weeks with him. When he finally awoke, she was the first to know.

"Sasuke! You're awake!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess. How long have I been out?" He asked.

"Fourteen days," she responded.

"Huh. Hey Sakura?" He called.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to apologize for saying that I hated you and for leaving you at that camp." He said.

"It's OK,"

"No its not. And I owe it to make it up to you. I promise to be nicer to you," He persisted.

"Really?"

"Yes. And to start it off I need you to come over here." He pointed at the floor next to his bed to indicate where. She walked over and stood where he had pointed.

"Now come closer, I need to tell you something."

She leaned in to where she was nose to nose with him.

"I want to tell you… that I love you," He whispered. And then they kissed. They were so intimate with this kiss, that they didn't notice the crowd of people in the doorway. Ineri was at the head of the crowd. She was cheering as if she was watching a World Cup Final. But the good mood was ended by Aang, who ran in franticly.

"The Fire Nation is attacking!!"


	8. The Attack

**Well, I'm going to be gone for the rest of the week so just sit tight. After that, I've got about a week before school starts. Then I'll only update during the weekends. But let's not worry about that, and start worrying on how the gang is going to fight the Fire Nation!**

**Namikazelil: THX  
Moksternz: Ha, I was waiting for someone to bring up my age! THX!**

The Attack

The room got very quiet. Aang's heavy breathing was the only thing to be heard. But after a few seconds, a loud 'BOOM' solidified Aang's story. Everybody jumped into action. Sakura stayed by Sasuke, who tried to sit up, but failed due to the injury in his stomach.

The section of temple that they were in included the mess hall, infirmary, and the sleeping quarters. Because of the successful raid, they had the supplies to withstand siege. To add, the entrance to that area had a large, wooden, air-locked gate. Everybody was in this section at the start of the attack. The gate was built directly into the canyon wall, with the living quarters in the canyon wall. It was a near indestructible shelter.

Immediately, Aang and Toph used earthbending to barricade the gate. Then Toph stomped her foot on the ground, and outside of the shelter, walls popped out of the mountain. They resembled the walls of Ba Sing Se, except smaller. They were thick enough for a large man to stand on.

"Alright, we've got walls." Toph reported.

"I'll take this one guys!" Ineri volunteered. She took out three small scrolls and her larger scroll and began drawing soldiers. This time, as many as fifty, six-foot soldiers popped out of the paper. They all were archers. Toph created stairs to the place were the walls were located on the outside. The ink soldiers walked up the stairs, Toph opened the rock, and the soldiers walked into battle.

The group relaxed, but not completely, they knew that the soldiers would only last so long. Ineri controlled her soldiers through a peephole at the top of the stairs. It was only about ten minutes before all of Ineri ink returned to her.

"Whoa, there must have been about a thousand soldiers out there! That was AWESOME!" Ineri yelled. Everybody deadpanned. When they got back up, they realized that the gate wouldn't last long. Aang and Toph barricaded the gate even more, but as soon as they heard another large 'BOOM', they knew that it wouldn't matter.

Hinata walked up to see what they were using to knock down the gates. She activated her Byakugan, and looked around. To her horror, they were using a catapult, and it must've been only 30 feet away. As another burning rock hit the gate, they then loaded up a large metal ball. They needed four of the largest, most behemoth looking men in the world to lift it up. Then everybody moved from around the gate.

"Get away from the door!" She yelled, as she ran back into Naruto's arms. Everybody jumped back. Hinata, who still had her Byakugan running, watched as the large ball was launched at the gate. It hit the wall, and the gate, and all of its barricades, came crashing down. The Fire Nation troops came rushing in, and the group charged back.

Aang, Toph, Katara, and Zuko cleared out the initial charge with their bending powers Naruto, Kakashi, and Shino then cleared out the next wave with a barrage of shuriken, kunai, and poisonous bugs. Kakashi and Naruto performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu, while Ineri and Toph created their mini armies. The Kakashi clones began focusing chakra to their palms and soon enough, the entire temple was lit up by the lightning blades. They charged and destroyed about twenty men. Naruto's clones began charging up for a similar charge of Rasengans, but ten firebenders ran up and shot large steams of fire, destroying the clones.

Those same fire benders also created large burning wheels, which they sent rolling at the group. Zuko and Aang firebended the wheels back, but the benders had moved. They ran up and flanked the group. Naruto threw kunai at them, and caught three in the face. Those troops dropped to the ground, dead. He then began charging up for a Rasengan. Zuko blasted fire and incinerated one. Kakashi ran up and shoved a kunai in one's chest, then brought it spinning around in to another one's leg. But these impressive displays did little to stop additional troops from charging.

Things were looking bad for the group, but two troops would change that. One of them, ran up and punched Katara in the face, then kicked her in the head once she was on the ground. The other ran up and locked Hinata in a sleeper hold until she blacked out. They then drug the two heroines towards their ship. But unlucky for them, Aang and Naruto saw.

'They…killed her…,' Naruto thought. He began shaking uncontrollably. 'They killed the one person that mattered to me…,' Rage filled his eyes. A red aura of chakra enveloped his being, and three tails sprouted from it.

"I'LL KILL THEM!!" He screamed. Aang saw them dragging Katara and thought the exact same things. His tattoos began to glow and he floated into the air. With one giant gust of air, he blew as many as fifty men off of the temple. At the same time, Naruto slashed the throats of the men who held Katara and Hinata. After that he dashed over and slashed three soldiers' faces off. Blood spattered all over the ground. A battalion of about thirty archers took aim and fired arrows into both of the enraged heroes. Aang blew the arrows that headed for him away. Naruto was hit by the arrows, but continued to slaughter the troops.

The rest of the group watched in awe. They didn't move, in fear that they would attract some unwanted attention. Aang shot a giant wave of flame from his mouth, sending countless troops over the edge. Naruto created a gigantic Rasengan and smashed it into the catapult. The machine buckled, and then exploded, sending at least a hundred troops over. The remaining troops began to retreat, but Aang blocked their path with a wall of rock. Naruto killed fifty troops just by slashing them.

Finally, Naruto decided to end it, by creating a massive Rasengan about the size of small car. He shoved it into the earth, and all the troops went sliding down the canyon. Naruto and Aang reverted back to their original states, both unconscious. The temple was relatively undamaged, unless you count the countless bodies lying on the ground. Naruto, Katara, Hinata, and Aang were brought to the infirmary. There they stayed for a few days, until they awoke.

"Ughh, what happened?" Naruto asked.

"You and I went berserk and destroyed the Fire Nation army." Aang responded.

"Oh. WAIT! Is Hinata OK?" He asked.

"Yes, Naruto, I'm fine. I'm the one who should be worrying about you." Hinata responded.

"Why?"

"Because normal people don't take fifteen arrows in their back, a stab wound in their stomach, and a spear tip in their neck and live to tell about it," Sakura said as she walked in and stood at the end of his bed.

"Can I please just talk to one person?" He asked.

"Fine, Aang let's leave these two alone," Sakura said as she walked out of the room. Aang followed on his Air ball. That left Naruto and Hinata in the room.

"Hinata, I'm so-"He started, but before he got any further, she began bawling into his stomach. He didn't understand but he comforted her anyway.

"I-I'm s-s-so s-s-sorry." She cried.

"It's OK Hinata. I'm sorry for letting that guy even getting to you. You don't have to apologize for anything," Naruto said calmly.

"A-Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course," He reassured her, "And I promise that I will not let anything happen to you ever again" He added.

"I love you," Hinata said.

"I love you too," Naruto responded.

They went in for a kiss, but Hinata accidentally leaned on his stomach injury.

"OWWWWW!!" He yelled. It was awkward, but cute in the same respect. For now, they could rest.

**--MEANWHILE IN NARUTO'S UNIVERSE--**

"Orochimaru-san, I found this scroll in the woods. It is a jutsu scroll" Kabuto told his mentor.

"Hmmm, let me see that," A creepy looking man said. "Hmmm, the Teleportation Jutsu? Well I guess we know why our friends are missing. Hehehe…"

He began to laugh into the sky, and his accomplice joined in with him. This was a bad day, and it was only going to get worse.


	9. The Cliff

Little need for introduction. I will begin working to finish this story within the next few weeks, just because I feel that I owe it to you all. Please read, review, and ,most importantly, enjoy.

The Cliff

"Ok so we have a definite problem now," Zuko said in a somber tone. The room was dark as the night outside. Candles were scattered about the room, only intensifying the mood. Zuko sat on the floor, his hand placed on his chin.

"The Fire Nation knows we're here. We have about a day, maybe two before they attack again. Only this time, they will be bigger, stronger, and smarter than last time." He continued. The group, also sitting on the floor, looked at him with great intrigue, understanding what he was implying.

"I completely understand and agree, but where can we go to?" Aang asked, "This was the one place nearby that they wouldn't think to look, and now they looked."

Yet another compelling argument. It was apparent that they were at an impasse. Not to mention that wherever they decided to hide, it would have to be big enough for the entire group, ninjas and all.

"Right now, it's most important that we take what supplies we can and get out of here. Zuko is right, it won't be long before the Fire Nation acts." Sasuke said.

Unfortunately there weren't many options, and they agreed that leaving was the right decision. That night was a long one, as everybody gathered their possesions together. Few words were spoken, and everyone seemed very distant from one another. It was a swift and silent cleaning of house, and by around 3 the next morning, they had left.

Like nomads in the desert, they wandered around aimlessly, while Zuko and Aang attempted to figure out where they actually could go. And then Zuko remembered. As they passed by a beach, it struck him.

"Thats it! We can use my Family's old beach house on Ember Island! No one uses it anymore, so we should be fine to hide out there as long as we need!" Zuko said, breaking off a rare smile.

"You have a private beach house that's abandoned, and you didn't care to mention it earlier?" Sokka asked. Zuko rubbed the back of his neck nervously and nodded. After a simultaneous group deadpan, they set off to Ember Island in good spirits.

As the group approached the shore, it was beggining to turn dark again. Perfect conditions for Appa to ferry everyone to the island. They moved quickly and quitely like... well like ninjas. It didn't take long for the whole group to begin to set up their prospective "areas"

Being the late night, all fell asleep quickly. All except for Ineri. She sat up and walked out of the house, down to the beach. On the shorline, she sat down and took a deep breath. Gazing out at the open water, she was suddenly inspired to paint. And so she did. With astonishing skill and patience, she began painting the cliffside with the waves crashing underneath it.

After about an hour she heard footsteps, she turned around to see Hinata, who was gently walking towards her. She was looking at Ineri with a slight glimpse of curiosity. Ineri gave her a welcoming smile.

"I was just going for a walk. I'll leave you alone," Hinata turned to leave, but was called back.

"It's ok. I don't mind the company. It's too quiet for me anyway."

"oh alright," Hinata said slowly. She had never seen Ineri so still and calm. It was if the painting had a sedative effect on the primarily happy girl. It was also as if Ineri could read the shy heiress's mind.

"I know, I normally don't act like this. I'm usually so hyper and cheerful. But painting relaxes me. It allows me to sit down and really think." Ineri said without ever looking up from her work. Hinata listened without ever making a sound.

"I guess I get it from my dad. He was an artist back at home. I used to sit there for hours upon hours watching him paint. He was incredible, and he would make these beautiful paintings." She continued, glancing up at the cliff.

"What happened?" Hinata asked. Ineri looked at her with slight confusion, and then giggled.

"Nothing happened! He's still there painting. Not everything has to have a long backstory. Somethings are just that simple." Ineri explained. Hinata's face went a shade of crimson, and she began trying to recover.

W-w-well I never s-said t-t-that." Hinata began to stutter again. Naruto had been working with her to try and stop stuttering, which was going great until now. Ineri turned around and walked up to the girl.

"It's alright. Seriously no need to be embarassed. It was just a question, and I answered it. No big deal, right?" Ineri smirked at the end.

"Y-yeah. No b-big deal." Hinata began to calm herself finally. Ineri grabbed her completed painting and handed it to Hinata, who looked at the magnificently crafted painting.

"Listen. If you ever are upset, or you feel like you need to escape from the real world, just think about being in that drawing. Just thinnk about relaxing with Naruto on this beach looking at that cliff." Ineri said. At the mention of Naruto, Hinata realized that she hadn't truely spoken to her favorite ninja since they had left the Western Air Temple.

"Wow. You're so much smarter than I thought you were." Hinata joked. Ineri did not see the humor coming, and she laughed when it hit her (which took a few moments).

"Thanks... I guess. But we should probably get to sleep. It's getting late, and I need my beauty sleep." Ineri flashed a large smile concluding her statement. She walked back to the beach house with her tools and disappeared from Hinata's vision. Not long after, she followed Ineri back to the house.

Finally in bed, Hinata took a moment to look at the paintung, and imagined her and Nauto there, just as Ineri instructed. Immediately, a grin crossed her face as she put it down and drifted off to sleep, with the vision of the cliff still very much in her mind.


	10. The Untrained Eye

In recent days, I've realized how precious my remaining childhood is, so I want to finish this story in order to come full circle in my writing career thus far. I sincerely hope you enjoy this story, I apologize for my lack of consistency, and I aim to finish this story in the coming months, barring life throwing yet another curveball at me. In any case, here is the long awaited 10th installment of Naruto: the Last Airbender.

The Untrained Eye

Flames swirled in a violent whirlwind of heat and color. The ground reflected a shade of orange, and the air itself seemed to melt at the sheer heat. Suddenly, the fire roared as it raced across the courtyard in a burst of speed and ferocity. Like a flaming train of pain, it seemed unstoppable.

At the last second, the blast was split in two directly in front of the bald, bright blue arrow of the Avatar's head. The flames were dispersed and returned to the air from which the seemingly came, and Aang took a deep breath before opening his eyes and regaining his stance. A bead of sweat ran down his face.

"You need to focus more. My father will unleash a fire blast ten times as powerful, and that's if he's toying with you," proclaimed a rather irritated Zuko. After nearly half a day of training, nerves were beginning to build up.

"Well I wasn't about to turn it around and bake you like a cake!" Aang cried defensively

"I would rather you try to attack me then take whatever you get hit with! You can't hesitate when firebending. It needs to be decisive and powerful."

Aang attempted to come up with a retort, but it was no use. He knew Zuko was right this time. Right then, Katara stepped in, suggesting everyone take a break for a while. But this did little to relieve the tension.

Since coming to the house only two days before, no one had left its confines. With a large group confined to a single house, an awkward stiffness seemed to entrap everyone. Even Ineri and her almost perpetual smile seemed to be a little more quiet than usual. It's one thing to be stuck in a fancy beach house. It's another to be stuck in a beach house with people from a different dimension and you can't go outside for fear that an entire nation will descend upon you and destroy you because you're with the Avatar.

So naturally, when you combine all these elements together, Naruto was an extremely jumpy ninja. No amount of target practice in the courtyard or meditation or free running on the roofs could calm his simmering nerves. Even Hinata, who had quickly come to mean the world to the young ninja, could not calm him down.

The two had managed to keep their relationship mostly private. Ineri knew, but she seemed to enjoy the innocence and left them alone as such. However, it was becoming a harder and harder secret to hide. Naruto's anxiety had almost gotten them caught on several occasions. And with no one leaving the house, it seemed nearly impossible to evade everyone. They talked in the dining room right after everyone had eaten for the night, but it was one of the rare occasions they were left alone.

"Naruto… D-Do you think we should tell everyone?" Hinata asked nervously as she began stacking bowls together that evening.

"About what?" Naruto responded. Hinata smirked for a moment, and then persisted.

"W-Well, about 'Us'?" She smiled and blushed largely at this last statement. She was still a bit in shock it was real.

"No! That'd ruin all the fun!" he joked. His blue eyes drifted over to the Hyuga Heiress, and his joking grin settled into a more compassionate smile. He walked over to her and wrapped his arm gently around her waist.

"Besides, I have something planned. Meet me out by the beach tonight at midnight! I need to show you something!" He added. At this, her face flushed into a deep shade of crimson. Her mind began racing with all of the possibilities. Her curiosity was peaked.

"Well what are we going to be doi-" She began, but she was cut off by a quick peck on the lips from Naruto.

"You'll see soon!" He responded. She smiled warmly at him, and he returned it. He then reluctantly released her from his arms and walked down the hall to his room. She sighed and stood for a moment, reliving her great triumph. Before long, she looked down and saw Naruto's plate. She giggled and thought to herself 'His lips tasted just like the noodles'

Hinata left her room at just before midnight. She wanted to take a quick walk before her rendezvous with Naruto. Her nerves were now getting the better of her, but a stroll in the courtyard, she figured, could alleviate that. As she walked silently through the courtyard, she made out a figure sitting on a bench. She approached cautiously, but then was relieved to recognize the face.

"Toph! You had me worried for a second," Hinata said with relief.

"Oh hi!" Toph jumped at the sound of Hinata's voice, "I didn't see you there."

"Well aren't you blind?"

"Ugh! Yes but you know what I mean! Your footsteps are even lighter than Twinkle Toe's, I can never see where you are for some reason," Said Toph with a hint of aggravation.

"How is it that you.. uhm… 'See'? Again?" Hinata inquired. Toph explained that she could feel the earth with her feet, but Hinata felt that the sensations described were incredibly familiar. She began thinking of why, but it only hit her when she saw Toph's eyes reflect in the moonlight.

"Toph, have you been blind your whole life?"

"Yep! As long as I can remember! My father always said it was so strange. I was the first person in the family's history to be blind so early."

"Hmm… You're sure that they're your real family"

"I'm pretty sure… Where are you going with all of this?"

"Toph, I am going to sound crazy, but I think your ability to 'see' comes from something other than earthbending," Hinata started. She saw a confused look glaze over Toph's face, but continued, "Everything you described from the seeing 360 degrees around you the sensations feel when you're trying to see are feelings I can relate to whenever I began training with my Byakugan. Our eyes even look the same. I'm not sure how to put this but… I think you have a Byakugan too!"

Hinata felt a slight heat begin to take her face, but she fought it back. She watched Toph's face carefully as the young Earthbending master processed everything she'd just heard. Hinata's heart was thumping, and it seemed to be the only sound in the quiet, nighttime courtyard. Finally, she formulated a response.

"You're right!" she proclaimed. Hinata's eyes widened with excitement.

"Really?"

"Yep! You really are crazy! I mean really, how could I have it? We live in different universes or something, it's just not possible! Plus, you can turn yours on and off! I'm blind, I can't see anything!" Toph said incredulously. Hinata's confidence in her discovery came crashing down.

"Maybe I am crazy, but I know I'm right. Please, let me just test it to see if it really is a Byakugan. Just a few exercises that we do in my family, and if I'm right it could be fantastic. You may even be able to actually see! With your eyes!" Hinata pleaded. At the prospect of being able to actually see, Toph changed her disposition entirely.

"What do you need to do?"

"I can't promise that this will work, but I'm going to try and send some of my chakra to your head. Maybe if a chakra path is blocked, this will clear it up and you will be able to see. It was used by my father if I would get stuck with my Byakugan on during training. He said I had an 'Untrained Eye.' It will only be for a few moments until you gain control of it through training " Hinata explained.

"I don't think you've ever said this many words without stuttering before," Toph commented sarcastically.

Hinata quickly placed her hand on Toph's head, and, being just the slightest bit nervous, took a deep breath. Then, in a quick movement, she sent a burst of chakra through the girl in front of her. Toph gasped and looked over at Hinata.

"Well?" Hinata asked

Toph smiled and said "I never realized how beautiful the moon is."

_MEANWHILE ON THE BEACH_

"WHERE THE HELL IS HINATA? I'VE BEEN HERE FOR AN HOUR!"


	11. When Two Problems Become One

CH 11, as promised. I can start to see how I'll start to build the story up to its climax from here. It should be pretty fast paced after this so get ready!

When Two Problems Become One

"So you're telling me… that two armies totaling almost fifteen hundred professional soldiers and firebenders of the most dominant army on the planet were conquered in consecutive battles…BY A GROUP OF ADOLESCENT KIDS?"

The five unfortunate soldiers hung their heads in shame. Being flung off the cliff almost seemed like a more pleasing option when compared to the berating of an angry Fire Lord Ozai.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME WITH YOUR PRESENCE! YOUR BROTHERS IN ARMS DIED IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU THE CHANCE TO RUN AWAY LIKE THE FILTHY MONGRELS YOU ARE!" Ozai hollered, as every word was accented emphatically by a burst of flame within the royal hall. The walls began to ooze slowly, as if they too wished to slip away from the fury of their fiery ruler.

"Sir, we had no other options! It wasn't just the Avatar and his cohorts. We were prepared for them! There were others. A blonde boy with whiskers that had powers like I've never seen before," desperately declared the youngest looking troop of the unfortunate troupe. "It was almost as if he could bend energy itself! It swirled in his hand and he would use it like a hammer, smashing through anything that came in his way. We stuck him with spears, arrows, swords… everything! But nothing fazed him. He ran through us like a juggernaut fox. Mindlessly throwing ourselves at him wouldn't have solved anything!"

"It would have saved you from the inevitable exile that you face for that ludicrous tale!" Ozai retorted. He chuckled, and then continued, "You honestly expect me to believe you faced an energy bender? I suppose you expect me to believe that he could teleport and make copies of himself as well?"

The young soldier put his head back down. He could hardly believe it himself. Hundreds of soldiers of the greatest regime on earth swatted away like insignificant gnats. His fate had been sealed.

"You are all exiled. Now get out of my kingdom" Ozai said finally. The five soldiers kneeled in respect, and left their former lord.

As the door behind them closed, the Fire Lord found himself very, very alone. His mind cruised over the information that he had just been given. Had the Avatar really found an energy bender? How was this madness even possible? Perhaps it was all just a trick… but tricks don't result in dead and wounded soldiers. How could he possibly defeat such a force? Suddenly, his palace seemed to grow very small. No title or crown could comfort him, no army could seem to protect him. In the largest nation on the planet, Lord Ozai indeed found himself feeling very, very alone.

A little more alone than usual, as a matter of fact.

"Where are my guards?" He whispered to himself

Suddenly he heard a series of thuds, and a slow, serpentine hiss. He shot up from his throne and took a firebending stance. Out of the shadows of the long corridor, he saw two figures slowly approaching. A lone bead of cold sweat raced down his brow.

"Show yourselves!" he demanded. The silhouettes complied. He was approached by two men, a younger one with gray hair and glasses, and an older one with gray, mottled skin, black hair, and a sickeningly reptilian face. From the latter, an incredulously long tongue whipped back and forth.

"Who are you?" Ozai demanded. Sparks began to shoot from his clenched fists.

"My name is Kabuto" said the younger one ever so calmly, "And this is Orochimaru," he continued with a gesture to the humanoid next to him. They took a simultaneous bow.

"How did you get past my guards?" the Fire Lord questioned firmly. His fists began to relax.

"Come now. Did you really expect faceless henchmen one and two to be able to stop us? I was expecting a better fight from royal guardians" Kabuto said with a smirk. He rolled out a dented fire nation helmet to the Fire Lord.

Ozai looked, stunned, at the empty armor in front of him. He clenched his teeth and sent forth a fury of fire blasts to the two ninja in front of him. He looked again, and suddenly, they were gone. He relaxed, but was suddenly thrust upon the ground and felt a sharp blade against his neck.

"And believe me, you would be dead two if that's what we came here for," said Orochimaru. The words seemed to slither off of his long tongue and into the mind of the mighty Lord Ozai.

"But I believe we can be of some benefit to one another. You seem to be very troubled by the existence of this 'Avatar' and his new shinobi friends in this realm. But I can take care of your little problem. And then you can go on to conquer your little world or do whatever it is aim to do," Hissed the snake of a man.

"And what do you want in return?" Ozai rasped.

"You and I share aspirations of domination. And with Naruto and his pesky friends out of the way, that may be more possible than ever. But I'll still need an army. Yours should do nicely." He smiled. Then, with a thought, he added, "And I think I'll take control of half of this world as well. I think I shall be the first man in history to conquer a world and a half!"

Ozai looked at Orochimaru like he was a madman (Which is pretty dead on).

"And if I don't agree?" He felt the tip of the blade sink into his skin.

"I'll kill you here and do it myself" Orochimaru proclaimed matter-of-factly. The kunai was removed from the Fire Lord's neck, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping profusely. He looked up through his black sea of hair, and saw the handle of the kunai facing him.

"Which will it be, Ozai?" Orochimaru held the blade out as he inquired, "Friend or foe?"

The Fire Lord looked at the dented helmet lying in his Royal Hall, then back at the two men.

"You two have made quite a Godfather of an offer…"

He grabbed the handle of the blade and stood up.


End file.
